Golden Knights Gameday: Vegas Eyes Ducks

In a rematch from opening weekend, the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks begin a two-game series at T-Mobile Arena tonight.

Vegas Golden Knights (7-1-1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (5-5-3)

Both teams have been on a bit of an adventure since they opened the season opposing one another. For the Vegas Golden Knights, the team missed several games due to COVID-19 protocols before returning last Friday. The Golden Knights didn’t seem to skip a beat, taking all four points from the Los Angeles Kings. The Anaheim Ducks have managed to earn points in eight of the team’s last 10 games, getting back to even with two wins in the last three games.

The Golden Knights have been on a tear offensively, scoring four-or-more goals in six of the team’s first nine games. Mark Stone leads the team with 11 assists and 14 points, while Max Pacioretty leads the club with six goals. In all, Vegas’ top six forwards have combined for 48 points so far.

Anaheim’s scoring is evenly distributed throughout the lineup, with no player having more than six points. Six players have five or more points, and 12 different Ducks have scored at least one goal.

Keep An Eye On:

Vegas Golden Knights

Marc-Andre Fleury is set to get his fifth start of the season and has been stellar so far for Vegas, going 4-0 with a .944 save precentage and 1.25 GAA. Fleury has been solid in all situations and made the big saves when called upon. He’s as close to a sure thing right now as there is for the Golden Knights.

Anaheim Ducks

Max Comtois scored twice opening night against Vegas and totaled three goals in the first two games. Plus his five goals leads the Ducks so far. That said, Comtois has been very streaky and scored twice February 5th against the San Jose Sharks but failed to score in the nine games in between. Is he due again?

Notes:

Vegas Golden Knights

• Tonight marks the debut game for the Vegas Golden Knights Adidas reverse retro red jerseys.
• Mark Stone needs one point for 400 career points. He is on a three-game point streak (1-5-6).
• Shea Theodore needs one assist for 100 career helpers.
• Max Pacioretty has 3-4-7 on his current three-game point streak.
• The VGK are 4-0-1 when scoring first and 3-0-0 when tied after two periods of play.

Anaheim Ducks

• Ryan Miller’s shootout win over the San Jose Sharks last time out was his 388th career win, placing him one behind Dominik Hasek for a tie for 14th all-time.
• Anaheim’s penalty kill has been very good to start the season, turning aside 31-of-36 chances so far for a fifth-ranked 86.1%.
• Max Comtois is the only Ducks player to score against the Golden Knights this season, recording three goals in the first two games of the season.